On Sunday, August 16, Bartolomeo & Perotto Funeral Home and Walker Brothers Funeral Home will hold their annual butterfly release ceremony for families that have recently lost a loved one. The release will be held at YMCA Camp Northpoint, 249 North Greece Road in Hilton. Two ceremonies will take place – one at 12 p.m. and the other at 3 p.m., respectively.
Families and friends are invited to participate in the butterfly release as a celebration of remembrance for all recently deceased loved ones. During the ceremony, hundreds of monarch butterflies are released into the air as a tribute. Over the years, participation has grown and this year, close to 700 community members are expected.
The monarch was chosen over other butterflies because of its migratory nature. By instinct alone, monarch butterflies migrate south to Mexico – to the same mountains that their ancestors left the previous spring. Somehow, they find a place in Mexico that they’ve never seen before. Monarch butterflies are born knowing everything they need to survive. The symbolic nature of the butterflies ascending toward the heavens leaves a strong impression on the ceremony participants. Attending the butterfly release ceremony has become a comforting event for families to come and remember loved ones they have lost.
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